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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Transformation

Romans 12:2 (New International Version)Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

I read this verse in my quiet time this morning. Well, read is a strong word. In reality my eyes scanned over it because I've read it many times before. I knew it already... or did I? The word "transformed" caught my eye and I read back over it, this time paying attention.

I knew I needed to be transformed. I need my situation transformed, my perspective, my outlook. I need transformation-- how do I get it? By renewing my mind. I renew my mind by reading God's word, hearing from Him as I do and then applying it in my life.

I thought about how we all need transformation in our lives. It might be our situation that needs to be transformed-- a rocky marriage, a job loss, a wayward child. It might be our attitude that needs to be transformed-- how we feel about being a full-time mom taking care of our children's endless needs, the way we treat our spouse, how we handle where we are in life. It might be our perspective that needs to be transformed-- how we see ourselves when we look in the mirror, how we receive God's love, what we see when we peer into the future.

No matter who we are, we need transformation because God didn't create us to stay the same. He whispered change into the fiber of our being, knowing we would struggle with it, resist it, and embrace it at different points in our lives. He wants us to be transformed, changed a bit more with each passing day. To leave us where we are would be boring and stagnant. My transformation requires more transformation, a chain reaction.

Right now I am not loving the changes in my life, the transformation that's being required of me. And yet, I know that transformation is necessary. Stagnant water stinks and so does a stagnant life. And so I keep seeking God as I allow Him to transform me, clinging to His word and letting Him guide me through the transformation, step by step, one truth at a time.

PS. I wrote this post while listening to David Gray's Transformation. A fitting song, dont'cha think??

Love your thoughts on transformation and discipline today on the Proverbs 31 Devo. They work well together don't you think? I had an interesting epiphany during Lent...it's led me to pray for becoming more captive to Christ, instead of all the other things I'm captivated with.Wow! Looks like you've been doing some writing. I just got We Speak and can't wait to dig in!

MaryBeth...Thank you so much for today's post and at P31....they were both right on with what God has been speaking to me this past week. Wow....I am so humbled when He speaks a word clearly over and over again every which way i turn. Blessings to you....Laura

Marybeth, I pop in from time to time after doing Wendy Pope's daily Bible study, and it's time I told you that your writing voice speaks to me like no other. I am anxiously awaiting your novel, which I pre-ordered. You are on my daily prayer list, as you and Curt go through this painful time of "transformation". I've got a few years on you, so I can say from experience that you are likely going to look back on this time and say "wow, if that hadn't happened, then such-and-such wouldn't have happened, so it was all an important part of the tapestry of our lives." Think about looking at one or two square inches of a tapestry. It would just look like a tangle of threads, wouldn't it. Now back WAY up and look at the whole, completed tapestry. Pretty awesome, right? Hang in there, Sister. Everything will turn out fine, because "He knows the plans he has for you..."

That word in Romans 12:2 is used to describe what happened to Jesus on the mountain in front of three disciples. It is translated as "transfiguration," but is the same word: metamorphao (where we get the word metamorphosis.)

He was transformed, so that the glory that was within Him shone out for all to see. I like to think that our transformation accomplishes the same purpose; that the Holy Spirit within us displays a bit more of His glory to the world as we are changed bit by bit into the image of Christ.